24 Feb 2011

Black Rebels

I could feel the hot morning sun burning down on me in the wheat fields as I squinted over to the West where I could hear the distant rumble, then, out of the shimmering orange light came a phalanx of Rifters. I dropped the shovel I was leaning on and cusped both hands over my eyes to act as a temporary sunblock. Twelve dark-black silhouettes slowly rumbled towards me in formation.

The noise was like a landslide, or a wing of bombers passing over. Knowing the Rebels I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing. A planet-side stop off was not rare for the Rebels, but for twelve of them, this must have been a special occasion, perhaps the rumours that their party had hit town were true? I swiftly turned on the spot, my hands now acting as makeshift ear defenders as the noise pummelled down on me as the Rifters passed over my head.

Huge modified autocannons, filthy denim and an aura of barely contained violence; The Black Rebel Rifter Club could paralyse whole towns and outposts with fear, so terrible was their reputation. They call themselves the Black Rebels, most of them are of Brutor origin, capsuleers who have strayed from the programme. They fly, rape and pillage like marauding cavalry - and they claim that no security force can break up their criminal frigate fraternity.

Whole crews of like-minded men and women join them on their frigate crusades. These chosen few, dirty in appearance, shaved heads or greasy dreadlocks and tribal tattoos, mirrored aviator sunglasses and sleeveless leather jackets. These are the hard core, the outlaw elite, they go about their business with a fine, unwashed arrogance.

We're the fucking one percenters, man - the one percent that don't fit and don't care. So don't talk to me about your medical bills and your high security status - I mean you get your woman, your crew and your Rifter, handful of narcotics and your side-arm and you're on your way. We've punched our way out of a hundred rumbles, stayed alive with our boots and our fists. We're royalty among frigate outlaws, baby. - An intoxicated Black Rebel speaking to an unnamed journalist at Rifterball 500.


My mind wandered into thoughts about my old friend . . . Joey Mupoka stands six feet two inches tall, 210 pounds heavy, with massive arms, he is clean shaven with not a speck of hair on his shiny polished brown head. He has a wild, jabbering demeanour not calculated to soothe the soul of any personnel specialist. In his twenty-seven years he has piled up a tall and ugly CONCORD record: a multitude of arrests, from petty theft and battery, to narcotic offences and piracy - all this without a single actual conviction.

Joey was local to these parts before he went off and left for Military School. I wondered to myself if he was flying with the Rifters today, after all if the rumours that the Rebels were having their party here were true then why not?

As the Rifters disappeared into the distance and the rumble softly faded, I grabbed my shovel and got back to work. Tonight I would hit the township and join the party.

To be continued . . . .

MB.

23 Feb 2011

Fireball Rifter Squadron (part II)

The Glorious Death of Fireball II

For those not familiar with the Fireball Rifter Squadron project, here's a chance to play catch up by clicking this link right here. Ok, got it? Yes, a crazy ship to pilot, you need fingers like lightning and a steady nerve as you play the part of frigate necromancer, constantly bringing the little monster back from the dead until your enemy goes pop whilst thinking what the . . . . hell was that!? Or indeed until you burn everything out or you mistime a cap boost or a repper pulse - which in turn usually means you explode.

I undocked in Egghelende solar system with a couple of homeless guys who thought it would be good fun to 'come along for the ride'. When I told them about the possibilities of a sticky end they seemed even more up for it. Strange, maybe they had their eyes on the crates of milk I had on-board?

Anyway, it wasn't long before I spotted a handful of ships on scan, the system seemed quite busy and after sifting through the ships that I didn't fancy locking horns with I spotted a Merlin and eventually narrowed it down to an asteroid field. I also suspected that he was also looking for me and as I landed my suspicions were somewhat confirmed as I was greeted with the prospect of duelling with a pirate from the Fla5hy Red corporation.

The fight was on . . .

My shields quickly disappeared as I tried to gain some range on the Caldari vessel, remembering that I had some Standard Exiles just a button away from being injected into my brain I decided that now was as good a time as any to get my latest fix. The hit was good and I felt a surge as I spun up my overheated armor repairers at the same time spitting hot projectiles at my foe.

We danced around the asteroids in tandem, exchanging blow after blow, keeping range was a little difficult as I was webbed but I managed to stay out of the blasters melting optimal range for the most part, occasionally taking some heavy broadsides my 'reppers' were now whistling and repairing the incoming damage nicely as the Merlin finally succumbed to my own damage,  the stricken vessel exploding just as I capped out mid booster reload. With no power for my scrambler I couldn't even attempt to snag the pod as it scurried away.

As I was making my way over to the wreck I noticed a flurry of activity on my overview and seeing some allied battlecruisers of the enemy I had just slain land some twenty clicks away from me, I decided the best course of action was to warp off in the opposite direction, which I did. Good fights were exchanged and glancing down at my almost fried modules, decided the next best plan was a visit to the repair shop.

Repair Bill = 148,595 ISK. Ouch best hide that receipt from the bank manager.


The homeless guys were looking a little white in the face after that last bout of space combat and quite surprisingly didn't vacate the ship after I touched down for repairs. Either that or they were stuck to the inside of the ship.

It is worth noting that after the booster I took during the fight against the Merlin that we were now carrying a Capacitor Capacity Penalty. Not ideal but with a cargo full of cap boosters we could counter the loss in cap by eating more boosters when required. It also explained why I capped out so easily against the Merlin.

Moving on I made my way over to Amamake, where surprisingly there wasn't much in the way of targets so I decided to head on over to the faction warfare hub of Huola where I spotted some activity in the system. After narrowing down a Hawk assault frigate meddling inside a complex I decided to introduce myself. I landed right on top of the Hawk and immediately opened fire on the vessel, the Hawk pilot returned the favour and again it was game on.

There was one problem this time around though, it appeared that this Hawk had an invincibility to the rounds of emp that I was pummelling it with. As my own shields quickly melted, as expected, I fired up the reppers and started the task of repairing the incoming rocket fire that was causing me immense problems. By now the Hawk's shields had withered slightly, but not enough to make me believe that I had a chance of emerging victorious from this duel.

What followed though was an epic period of tanking from the plucky Fireball frenzied Rifter. I think in total I brought Fireball II back from the brink of hull collapse and imminent death on no fewer than four occasions in this dogfight, it did not want to die as it flirted with structure bleeding and chunks of armor disappearing into the void of space. Unfortunately what did want to die was one of my armor repairers, ignoring the alarms that were buzzing on the overheated module it eventually shut itself down with an almighty bang. Down to just the single repper I decided to attempt to burn out of range and make an escape with my tail between my legs. Almost the perfect plan . . . .

A friend of the Hawk in a Daredevil landed on grid and as I was now seriously webbed and taking on heavy hits of blaster fire as well as the incoming rockets, Fireball II fell to its knees, the prey had been caught and the two much stronger frigates feasted on their meal as the now single armor repper Rifter fizzled and popped just as the hull broke off into the night sky.

Don't cry for Fireball II - it was a Daredevil we had no chance.


Good fights were exchanged as I made my escape via capsule. The pilots commenting on the plucky Rifter and its 'impressive tank'. Fireball II didn't have much of a long life out in the field but it certainly had a fun one. All round good fun and frolics had been had in the two fights and the legacy was well and truly opened and ready for Fireball III to grab by the horns.

Stats:

Number of Ships Killed -2 (edited - see comments below)
Number of Pills Popped - 1
Penalties from drug use - 1 (capacitor)
Expensive clones saved - 1
Ship Lifespan - approx 40 minutes.
Number of Homeless passengers survived - 1 (whereabouts unknown)
Number of Homeless people deceased - 1 (fried corpse found clinging to escape capsule entry door)
Cartons of Milk Lost - Thousands. 'Pator Tech School Nursery for Gifted Children' saddened at the loss of their expected delivery.

Stay tuned for part III.


MB.

19 Feb 2011

Postcards From The Edge #1

Clearing out some old camera drone footage and inspired by the regular EON magazine feature, I have decided to share some images from my archives. Every so often you will get six glorious screen shots to peruse, should you wish of course.

(clicky to make bigger, but you knew that already, right?)

Wait . . What did you put in the fuel tank again?

Bubble Bobble.

What the hell is that? I dunno, just shoot it 'til it explodes!

Can you smell burning? Cos I totally forgot to pack the fire extinguisher.

What! How did that one get in here!?

Cynabal heading into a space-storm.



MB.

17 Feb 2011

CAPSLOCK ISN'T REALLY CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL

The last week or so has been filled with exciting happenings, some genuine tears, trolls, neat roams and general good hunting and slaughter in the space lanes.

In no particular order . . . .

The Penis Roam that was organized by Helicity Boson was probably the best novelty roam I have ever been on, the fact that x amount of pirates and other like minded souls can all get together like that and go roam and cause mischief makes me all warm inside.

The night got off to a flyer on the first undock as this Advocated Destruction battleship with carrier support melted under the wilt of heavy DPS. A good start. We then ruined the night of an unfortunate lone Vagabond pilot who was somewhat startled by the sight of the fleet that awaited him after jumping into us, he wobbled about and then fell with ease, some pilots complaining they didn't make the mail, such was the brutal deliverance of mega-phallic DPS levels.

The night was eventually over for me when my Thorax popped under sustained fire, but before this demise I was enjoying myself in this epic battle which was fast and furious, electric was running through my veins as we laid down the pain.

Also worth mentioning perhaps was the Providence we almost snagged on the gate, he warped off in deep armour having logged off after presumably realising he was perhaps going to run into trouble after spotting the local count or after intel reports, I'm not quite sure on this and perhaps someone could clear that up? Anyway,the order was given for some of the fleet to jump through in case the Providence made it back to the gate, at this point we didn't realise he had in fact logged sometime before, in hindsight a bubble on the gate would have snagged us a tasty freighter kill. I think?

Camera drones managed to record some archive footage from the roam. I'd also like to thank Helicity for organizing this event and Jones Bones the FC for Fc'in it, oddly enough. Looking forward to the next novelty roam, that is for sure.



A sight to behold - Thorax fleet in formation.


Providence freighter comes under attack on a stargate.












Almost.

I decided to set up my own novelty trolling/ransom channel, just for the lol factor - I don't actually do much ransoming these days as the demand for frozen corpses is much higher.


EVE System > Channel MOTD: DUE TO RECENT ACTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST AN MCDU AGENT - YOUR CORPSE HAS BEEN CHOSEN AS A POTENTIAL DONOR. The mistreatment of donated bodies is not uncommon. The Universal Anatomical Gifts Act governs the donation of bodies for dissection, research, clone production and transplantation throughout New Eden, but dead people can't file a complaint and many bodies get lost in transit.IF YOU WISH TO OPT OUT THEN RIGHT CLICK ON THE AGENT LISTED BELOW AND GIVE THE REQUESTED SOME OF MONIES WHEN PROMPTED. WE OPERATE ON A CODE OF HONOR AND WILL SET FREE THOSE WHO PAY PROMPTLY.UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE NOT ABLE TO DISCUSS COMPLAINTS OR CONCERNS ON VENTS AS OUR MUM AND DAD ARE SLEEPING AND WE ARE MOST TIMES MEANT TO BE SLEEPING AS WE PROB HAVE SCHOOL IN MORNING.MIURA BULL AGED 15 AND ********* ********** AGED 16 NEARLY 17.THANKYOUCOMEAGAIN!!!


Got some interesting bites.

After swiftly disposing of this pro-looking Catalyst.


[2011.02.08 21:45:10 ] Diaga McCabe > What.
[ 2011.02.08 21:45:14 ] Miura Bull > HALLO
[ 2011.02.08 21:45:26 ] Miura Bull > 5 million isk will release your pod
[ 2011.02.08 21:45:43 ] Diaga McCabe > You think I care about my pod?
[ 2011.02.08 21:45:52 ] Diaga McCabe > loser

This was escalated after I sent him the following trollmail.

From: Miura Bull
Sent: 2011.02.08 21:49
To: Diaga McCabe,

WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?

_ _ _ 

From: Diaga McCabe
Sent: 2011.02.08 21:50
To: Miura Bull,

Since you didnt hear me, what I sad was, your a Loser.

L-o-s-e-r. Write it down so you dont forget :)
Fail pirate. Fucking dicks alwats in here all day.

kthnxbai

_ _ _

Let the games begin :)

_ _ _

Re: Re: YOU
From: Miura Bull
Sent: 2011.02.08 21:52
To: Diaga McCabe,

I AM THE ONE WITH YOUR CORPSE AND I AM STRICT ANTI-PIRATES WE DO NOT CONDONE PIRACY THANKYOU

_ _ _

From: Diaga McCabe
Sent: 2011.02.08 21:54
To: Miura Bull,

lol thats why your out hunting smaller ships huh?

Ok, I'm sure. Big ole tough pirate you, bet you feel so badass now huh! how cute XD dick

_ _ _

From: Miura Bull
Sent: 2011.02.08 21:56
To: Diaga McCabe,

YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO ANSWER FOR THIS , YOU DID NOT HAVE A BELT PASS . . AND FOR YOUR NOTES A CTALYST IS A BIGGER SHIP THAN MY FRIGATE BOAT!

THIS IS NOT OVER. I CAN MAKE WAR ON ALL YOUR BOATS SHOULD YOU WISH TO DIS-HONOUR ANTI-PIRATES CODES

_ _ _

From: Diaga McCabe
Sent: 2011.02.08 21:58
To: Miura Bull,

lol. CAPSLOCK ISNT REALLY CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOl, just so your aware. Dick.

And I have no idea what your talking about, but be assured I am disregarding everything you say. I dont listen to idiots, are you insane or something?
Done wasting my time with you kiddy. Bye now.

_ _ _

From: Miura Bull
Sent: 2011.02.08 22:02
To: Diaga McCabe,

DO YOU NOT REALIZE WHO YOU ARE CALLING A KIDDY? I AM 15 AND NOT A KID! IF I WAS YOU I WOULD SHUT UP OR I WILL GET MY BROTHER WHO IS NEARLY 17 TO LOG ON AND HE HAS MORE SKILLZ THAN ME ND HE FLIES A TENGUI BOAT.

FINAL WARNING

_ _ _

From: Diaga McCabe
Sent: 2011.02.08 22:30
To: Miura Bull,

You moron.. Final warning? Final warning for what? You cant do shit, so shut your mouth little kid.

_ _ _

From: Miura Bull
Sent: 2011.02.08 22:35
To: Diaga McCabe,

IS THAT YOUR BEST COMEBACK OH MY. I AM LAUGHING SO MUCH. I AM ALSO LAUGHING SO MUCH AT YOUR FIT OMG WHEN MY BROTHER FINISHES PLAYING CALL OF DUTY I AM GOING TO SHOW IT HIM TOO.

GOT TO GO NOW COS SCHOOL IN MORNING. LIKE.

BYE DOUCHE.

O7

_ _ _

From: Diaga McCabe
Sent: 2011.02.08 22:40
To: Miura Bull,

lol.. you really are an idiot, arent you, a first class fucking prickstain. I didn't "combac" anything, I dont argue with dumb little kids. I only pointed out the truth and the truth is you are lame ass kid who thinks it is cool to act all big cos they have played this game for longer than the avergae new guy, it sucks it really sucks.
And lulz that your so lame you need to "show your brother".. So your saying he is as much a loser as you are that this game is important to him? OMG LOOK AT THIS RETARD BROTHER WHILE I TYPE IN ALL CAPS!!


Your a chump, face it. I am and will always be better then you XD

And no, I dont take this game seriously, so trying to comment on my fits just makes you look incredibly stipid it just makes you look more like a loser :)

---

He then logged off.

Looks like he put me in my place huh? I couldn't stop laughing at this exchange of mails, it was definitely a side splitting occasion and the guy just didn't 'get it' one bit. Ahh, lovely.

During this exchange of mails I also engaged conversation with another happy customer.

[ 2011.02.08 21:58:28 ] Towken Horben > lmao nice thing
[ 2011.02.08 21:58:32 ] Miura Bull > WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!?!
[ 2011.02.08 21:58:32 ] Towken Horben > lemme just finish reading it
[ 2011.02.08 21:58:38 ] Miura Bull > PAY ME ISK NOW I AM ANTIPIRATES
[ 2011.02.08 21:58:45 ] Miura Bull > LOL
[ 2011.02.08 21:59:07 ] Towken Horben > ok so when did i apparently become a pirate?
[ 2011.02.08 21:59:13 ] Miura Bull > YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO CROSS PALM WITH SILVER
[ 2011.02.08 21:59:27 ] Miura Bull > WHEN YOU HELD THESERPENTIS TO RANSOM IN THE BELTS
[ 2011.02.08 21:59:38 ] Towken Horben > lol the npcs..
[ 2011.02.08 21:59:41 ] Miura Bull > IS THE POD WORTH SAVING?
[ 2011.02.08 21:59:54 ] Towken Horben > this account is like 4 days old
[ 2011.02.08 21:59:57 ] Towken Horben > i don't even have 10mil
[ 2011.02.08 22:00:07 ] Miura Bull > THE SERPENTIS HAVE SPOKEN BE GONE NOW
[ 2011.02.08 22:00:32 ] Miura Bull > Corpse
[ 2011.02.08 22:00:37 ] Towken Horben > ty
[ 2011.02.08 22:00:45 ] Towken Horben > now i don't have to fly back
[ 2011.02.08 22:00:45 ] Saftsuze > YAY!!
[ 2011.02.08 22:01:11 ] Miura Bull > good sport, have a nice day o7
[ 2011.02.08 22:01:17 ] Towken Horben > buy
[ 2011.02.08 22:01:20 ] Towken Horben > bye*

Good humoured fun and no hate mail. I think this guy 'got it'.

Not so good humoured from one angry dude who took a dislike to the RANSM way of Drake dismantling.

From: Melody StarTears
Sent: 2011.02.13 23:24
To: Wensley,

fucking cum dring cock pig fucking whore.


From: Melody StarTears
Sent: 2011.02.13 23:29
To: Ariartus,


fuck you cum drinking pig fucking butt pirate go back to drink your corp buddies fucking cum you fucking suck holes



__ We Lol'd. __


Finally, last night I went on another great Wensley Roam. You can read all about it by clicking on this link right here.

The Flight of the Hurricane.



MB.

12 Feb 2011

The Mining Hurricane

The tiny Rifter landed right on top of the huge hull of the battlecruiser and I couldn't quite believe my eyes as the orange glow of a single mining laser lit up the darkness. I landed a scrambler right onto the beast as my autocannons began to spool up before spitting hot shells of EMP projectiles at its shields. The fight was on.

Just a few moments earlier I was just another passing traffic statistic, making my way down to somewhere else, always in a hurry, you know how it works. The Hurricane flashed up as I blipped my 360 degree scanner across the solar system mid-warp. The pilot hadn't renamed his ship and that triggered the alarm bells. However, further checks revealed this pilot was well over two years into his role as a capsuleer and surely must know a thing or two about fitting up his ships by now? As I aligned to his belt I started to sow a seed of doubt in my thought process, this must be a trap! Time seemed to pause as I dawdled for a moment, should I carry on with my journey or investigate?

Ahh what the hell! WARP DRIVE ACTIVE.


Back to the action . . . .


The Hurricane crew seemed to be oblivious to the fact that I was orbiting their ship and hitting its shields with the finest ammunition the Republic Fleet has ever produced, maybe they were all busy in the cargohold sorting out the huge chunks of Kernite that were being loaded into the ship, maybe the Captain was sleeping? Ratatat tat, boom, chuk chuk boom. My autocannons were singing as my Rifter nimbly danced a merry jig through the asteroid field. At this point I realised the Hurricane was fighting with a belt rat that had become angry with the theft of local ores. Then the gunnery crews sprung into life and a myriad of different projectile fire and missiles came my way . . . and went straight by and fizzled away in the distance. Perhaps the crew were merry on wine I thought to myself.

Red Alert - All crews to Gunnery posts - Hostile Rifter engaged.



Hornet drones now began to chase me down as the Hurricane's armour plating began to strip away from the hull. At first I ignored the drones and injected some heat to my afterburner and set for a wider orbit in the hope of evading the pesky little biters, before again switching back to a tighter orbit. I didn't return any fire to the drones because to be honest the damage from them was minimal at best. However, things were about to get ugly.

COLLISION IMMINENT - DIVERT COURSE NOW.

I had managed to slam my Rifter right into one of the asteroids, the whole ship shook and the hull rattled as the drones set upon my shields like an angry pack of hungry dogs. Manoeuvring away from the lump of rock and re-establishing my orbit I began to lock up and take aim at the drones, all the time keeping point on the battlecruiser. One by one they began to pop like flies being drawn to a zapping blue light. Unfortunately at this exact moment in time a stray mining beam laser ripped right through the core of my ship turning the console into a black darkness, alarms began to ring as fragments of rock destined for the cargohold of the bigger ship smashed into my frigate hull. I had to bail and bail I did, warping away with my structure barely still in one piece. I dropped out of warp at a nearby planet as huge plumes of smoke and fire could be seen trailing my ship, I then docked at the station to patch up, the fight seemingly over now.


Upon undocking I took a broadside from the station's gun batteries as I entered warp back to the belt with GCC in the vain hope that the mining nuisance was still there. My shields were okay and my ship was now fully repaired and stable. Dropping out of warp I landed some 30km off of the Hurricane and made my way to the lumbering giant with overheated afterburner to make up the distance all the time hoping that he didn't enter warp and make for his safety. The mining lasers were still ripping up the rocks as I landed my scrambler for round two, my enemy was now down to a single drone but oddly enough he didn't choose to sic it upon me this time around. The end of the gloriously kitted out Hurricane was now inevitable but for one moment of madness where somehow I accidentally managed to let him out of scrambler range and he started to align some 16km off of me, I once again overheated my afterburner as I closed range and with a sigh of relief landed the scram once again. At the same time I noticed that I had completely fried the throttle on the afterburner, as the Hurricane entered structure my ship slowed and I did my best to keep as close to the battlecruiser hull as possible until it eventually succumbed to the blitz of fire that was upon it.

The killmail made me smile.

:)

MB.

4 Feb 2011

The Solo Combat Pilot's Guide to Good Roaming #2

Next up in my series of roaming guides takes us from the fabled system of Old Man Star and down into Verge Vendor to the small arena-style-combat system of Ouelletta. The roam is relatively small, consisting of nine main systems that we will be exploring as well as three separate off-shoot systems that are always worth a peek into. We will be traversing space that is frequented by a mix of pirates, mission runners, faction warfare pilots and the untrained ratter.

So, without further delay, jump into your frigates, hit that undock button and warm up your warp scramblers!


Old Man Star - Ouelletta 'Eye-patches & War Medals' 

Recommended ship type - Frigate hull.




System 1 - Old Man Star 0.3

For most capsuleers the system of Old Man Star needs little introduction. A system steeped in history and intrigue it draws pilots towards it like a beacon of glorious light. Most are drawn towards the promise of combat and the opportunity to make their fortune and to establish themselves as a name in a world of battered ship hulls and cut-throats. Others are brought here in the ongoing war between the Gallente and Caldari nations, to fight for their Militia in great fleets of military prowess. Some who come here perhaps overlook these factors and underestimate the volatility of Old Man Star. It can be volatile.

The system was formerly known as Ouperia, the rich history of how it got its name can be found here and is well worth a read.

Old Man Star borders the high-security system of Villore, traffic is usually heavy and for those wishing to test their mettle, should find an abundance of targets to tussle with. The system has 13 asteroid belts in various clusters, scanning from your safe near the star you will be able to monitor the asteroid belts in the V, VI, VII, VIII and IX cluster.


The other belts to check are in the X and XI clusters. Warping between safe spots in these clusters should give you an overall idea of the targets available to you and the targets worth avoiding. It is also worth looking out for targets in the faction warfare complexes that might spawn during your stay in the system, care should be taken though as faction warfare pilots will more than likely have wingmen close by.

Blob you say?


The system has a reputation as a blobbing hot-spot when the militias hit town, however this has been diluted somewhat recently as the war moves to pastures new, further afield. Numbers in the system can vary depending on the time of day and I find a good time to hunt in Old Man Star is when numbers are hovering around the 10-15 number. I think a fair average at the moment would be somewhere around the 20 point. Recently it has been reported that numbers can drop to around 5 or 6 as the system hits its off-peak times. This shouldn't discourage the hunter though, you should always be able to find a fight in Old Man Star.

The system has two stations and the market is generally poor, even for ammunitions and drones. Both stations do have repair facilities and the Senate Bureau has medical facilities available, however, it is not usually a good idea to dock up in Old Man Star as you might find yourself being camped in, emergency repairs only as a last resort.

System 2 - Ladistier 0.3

Ladistier is a system that is usually low on active numbers and I find that it rarely peaks above 10 at the times of day that I pass through its dark skies. It does have a lot of traffic though and those in here are probably either coming or going to and from Old Man Star or docked in the luxurious surroundings of the President Bureau which offers a medical service and repair shop.

Exploring the 16 belts in the system or poking around in any complexes that are active may attract the interest of passing ships but I wouldn't spend too long in here searching for the fight.

System 3 - Vifrevaert 0.4 (off-shoot system)

A high-sec bordering system just off of Ladistier and Allamotte, it is always worth having a look in here for targets, numbers are usually low, however, it has 13 belts that you can investigate should somebody be home. There is no station in this system.

After you have finished in here it is back into Ladistier and then onwards to . . . .

System 4 - Aeschee 0.2

Aeschee has always been a magnet for the mission running Capsuleer, the Sisters of Eve station in the system being one of the main reasons. These days the system usually has dedicated mission runners who live here permanently and earn their fortunes largely unopposed but for maybe a few surprise raids from local pirates. It is always worth checking the belts though as ratters can usually be left undetected by the mission runners who go about their business unaware.

16 belts to explore, including an ice field and two stations that offer good facilities including repair shops and medical bays. Not always a good idea to dock up for long periods in here though as the locals could camp you in for an easy kill.

Average pilots in space varies between 15-25 at times though it can be a busy system for passing traffic.

System 5 - Lisbaetanne 0.4 (off-shoot system)

This system can be a good place for hunting down ratters who have jumped in from its high-sec border systems. However, it is also worth noting that because of this the system has also become an attractive base for notorious pirate types. You might get lucky and be one of a few in the system during a quiet period. If you are, keep the scanner going and warp on in for any kills should anything show up in the belts.

The four stations in the system offer all the facilities you will need although the market is generally poor, unless you are shopping for skill books, in which case the Center for Advanced Studies School should provide you with what you need.

A quick jump back into Aeschee and it is onto another off-shoot system . . .

System 6 - Adirain 0.4 (off-shoot system)

Two high-sec borders make for a system that can at times be target-rich, ratters in belts and mission runners frequent this system, admittedly perhaps not quite as often as once upon a time. This system used to be a slaughter house and perhaps people become wise to such systems and after a time they do stop coming. However, a quick warp around the many belts should give you an idea as to whether or not blood will be spilled. Hovering around the IV cluster should see the main areas of activity covered just nice. This is still one of my favourite systems, so watch out for those none renamed frigates, destroyers and cruisers on scan! A real cat and mouse chase kind of system.

The two stations in the system offer minimal facilities and a generally poor market. The CBD Corporation Storage offering a repair facility. 

Moving back towards Aeschee after hopefully snagging a few kills in Adirain should bring you nicely to . . .

System 7 - Jovainnon 0.3

Our first system in the Verge Vendor region, Jovainnon is usually a quiet system, nobody of note actually lives in this system and traffic is usually just passing through on its way to more extrovert places. It is always worth checking out the belts and any plexes that are active though just in case.

Both of the Federal Freight Storage stations offer repair facilities but little else.

System 8 - Hevrice 0.4

Hevrice can be a dangerous place, it has a long history as a home to piracy. Currently it is the home turf of The Tuskers pirate corporation and before that Ministry of Destruction called Hevrice home. It has a high-sec border which generates traffic of various quality - mission runners, ratters and people generally taking short cuts find themselves as possible targets in the wild asteroid belts and space lanes of Hevrice.

14 asteroid belts spread over quite a large system makes for good hunting. It might be worth noting that should you linger in here for long periods the local pirate community will probably come out hunting you so be careful if they are home. You can be guaranteed a good fair fight in here though, if you are prowling in a Rifter you can probably expect another frigate to come your way, they won't blob you senseless.

Top station, Hevrice 5 - Federal Freight Storage is the Tusker base and I wouldn't really advise docking in here. Repair facilities are available in the bottom station should you need to patch up.

System 9 - Muetralle 0.2

A station-less system that nothing much ever happens in from my experience. It rarely has any activity in its 5 asteroid belts and the only traffic in here is likely to be passing through. Your best bet for a fight might be to snag a flashy red frigate on a gate. Even then, that can be a highly dangerous pastime.

System 10 - Costolle 0.2

Costolle has 12 asteroid belts including one ice field, combine this with the low security rating of the system and it can be an attractive system for ratters and miners. In reality it is never highly populated, if you do find people are active in the system then warp around and hope for a juicy target.

The two stations offer excellent repair and medical facilities and the medical bays are often frequented by nearby pirate communities. A wander around the clone vats makes for an interesting spectacle should you find yourself bored one evening.

Clones!


System 11 - Melmaniel 0.3

Four stations and a good number of asteroid belts but again a quiet part of the neighbourhood. Numbers remain low for most parts of the day. Again, should you find the system is active then warp around and engage anything you feel is fit for a fight.

Traffic in the system is usually passing through, with Murethand and onwards to the warfare lands of Black Rise a probable destination. 

The stations offer repair facilities but there is no medical service in Melmaniel. The market is usually poor.

System 12 - Ouelletta 0.4

Our final system. A small and compact system where everything is on scan from any point in space makes for a system of no hiding and plenty of opportunity for fights. The high-sec border brings in traffic from the Gallente homelands and more often than not opportunistic ratters and miners are attracted by the chance of bounties and cargo holds full of rare ores. In reality, you are going to kill them. Hang around in here and hopefully you will be able to hunt down the unprepared or engineer a fight with somebody of similar skill to yourself. You will get a fight in here eventually. I must have lost count of how many none renamed ships I have chased around in here, this is another one of my favourite hunting systems. In fact, as I type this very sentence I have just finished slaying this unfortunate soul.



This system used to be home to elements of various different pirate organisations and traces of them still appear on some occasions. Back to Yarrr still has its headquarters based here.

The three stations offer excellent facilities as expected, medical and repair facilities are there should you need them. As with any system of this ilk I wouldn't advise spending too much time docked up in stations should the system be busy. Numbers in here average around the 10 mark but it can get busier during peak periods.

At the end of your roam, those whose security status permits can jump off into the high-sec system of Jufvitte, those of negative status can continue onwards down into Placid or trace back towards Essence or you could even make use of a jump clone service in one of the medical bays and head on home the fast way.

Happy hunting!

MB.